My new go-to spot to lose myself in “walking around music” is the supermarket — Wegman’s in Johnson City, NY to be more specific.  I actually enjoy putting together a grocery list, grabbing a pair of headphones, and shopping by myself, as long as I have something to listen to so I can drown out the rest of the world.  I don’t have to hear someone arguing with the produce guy that the scales are rigged and they’re paying too much for pearl onions.  I don’t have to get annoyed with the guy who wants exactly 11/32nd of a pound of muenster cheese from the deli counter.  I don’t have to listen to the woman bitching that the expiration date on the milk was 2 days ago when she has her days messed up.  And I certainly don’t need to grow a beard while Mr. or Mrs. Supersaver holds up the whole fucking checkout line with 3 dozen coupons to scan, while double bagging everything in paper, waiting for their significant other to grab “one more thing”, and then paying by check.

I have a few “walking around” playlists, created by mood and genre.  In most of them, I like to include songs that the Beastie Boys sampled on Paul’s Boutique in 1989.  Have I ever mentioned before that Paul’s Boutique is the single greatest musical achievement in the history of humankind?  I haven’t?  Well, you heard it here first.  “Last Bongo in Belgium” played during my last shopping excursion as I got to the bread section to get my wife’s favorite 12-grain bread.  Tell me you’re not smiling when you listen to this.  It’s just so goooooood.  And for those wondering where the sample is, you’ll hear the magic happen around the 4:25 mark.  That drum break is used on “Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun” — an amazing track.

My advice to all the shoppers out there — carry a pair of headphones with you wherever you go and create a playlist that allows you to mentally drift away.  Whatever brings you to that happy place and allows you to drown out all the noise.  Shopping will never be the same again.